Semi-autonomous motorized weapon systems

ABSTRACT

Various techniques are described herein for controlling autonomous and semi-autonomous motorized weapons systems. In various embodiments, semi-autonomous motorized weapons systems may perform automated target identification, selection and prioritization techniques. Dynamic target tracking may be performed, for both primary and secondary targets, in cases of stationary and moving targets and weapon systems. A motorized weapon system then may be actuated automatically toward a firing solution target point, during which the operator-controlled firing mechanism may be enabled or disabled based on the projected point of impact of the weapon in comparison to a determined boundary area associated with the target.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a non-provisional of and claims priority toU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/581,280, filed Nov. 3, 2017,entitled “SEMI-AUTONOMOUS TARGETING OF REMOTELY OPERATED WEAPONS.” Theentire contents of provisional application no. 62/581,280 isincorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Invention

This disclosure generally relates to autonomous and semi-autonomousmotorized weapons systems. More specifically, the present disclosurerelates to hardware- and software-based techniques for efficientoperation of motorized weapons systems, via improvements in targetidentification and selection, autonomous actuation of motor andtargeting systems, dynamic tracking, and trajectory measurement andassessment.

2. Description of Related Art

Within the context of motorized weapons systems, the concept of a “killchain” refers to the sequence of actions performed between the firstdetection of potential targets, and the elimination of the targets. Thesequence of actions within a kill chain generally may include thefollowing: (1) Find—identifying and locating a target, (2) Fix orTrack—determining the accurate location of the target, (3)Target—time-critical targeting, including predicting where the targetmay pop-up, (4) Engage—firing on the target, and (5) Assess—determiningwhether or not the target has been hit and/or eliminated.

Conventional weapon systems may include various components for achievingthe above steps of a kill chain, including cameras and sensors toidentify targets, display screens and controls (e.g., joysticks) toallow an operator to identify targets and aim the weapon, and a varietyof weapons that may be fired at the target. Such systems may include“fully autonomous” weapons systems, which are capable of targeting andfiring without any intervention by a human operator, “semi-autonomous”weapons systems, which may use automated software target tracking toolsbut still rely on a human operator for target selection and firingcommands, “supervised autonomous” weapons systems, which may be grantedpermission to react to threats autonomously, and/or manual weaponsystems that are operated entirely by the human operator.

Typically, conventional weapons systems rely on an “operator centric”approach to perform the actions in the kill chain sequence. Such systemsoften prioritize the interface and environment provided to the humanoperator. First, the human operator may be put in a safe environment,and the operator's eyesight may be improved using broad spectrum andhigh-resolution options. The weapon may be stabilized from motion andvibration, to allow the operator to find and track the target via ajoystick and cursor or similar interface. After these steps, imagerecognition software may be used to attempt to recognize the target thatbeen selected and tracked by the operator, and trajectory adjustmentsmay be applied. Such systems and processes may result in a number oftechnical problems and inefficiencies, including difficulties oftargeting and tracking when the operator is in a moving vehicle,difficulties selection and identification of targets and inefficienciesin selecting follow-on targets, and operator-based assessment andcorrection of weapon targeting and firing.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Techniques described herein relate to hardware- and software-basedsolutions for operating motorized weapons systems, including targetidentification and selection techniques, autonomous actuation of motorand targeting systems, dynamic tracking, and trajectory measurement andassessment techniques. Certain embodiments described herein correspondto semi-autonomous motorized weapon systems, which may include variouscombinations of hardware such as weapons capable of firing munitions,two-axis and/or three-axis mounts configured to support and position theweapons, motors coupled to the mounts and configured to move the mountsto specified positions to control the direction to which the weapons isaimed, and/or operator interface components such as operator controlsand a target display device. In some embodiments, such a semi-autonomousmotorized weapon system may be implemented with various hardware-basedand software-based components configured to determine target pointsassociated with targets at a remote locations, determine one or moreareas having boundaries surrounding the target points, such boundaryareas determined based on the likelihood of the weapon hitting thetarget when aimed at the boundary in comparison to predeterminedlikelihood thresholds. Such embodiments may be further configured toengage the motor of the motorized weapon system, with instructions tomove the mount from an initial position to a target position at whichthe weapon is aimed at the target point, and during engagement of themotor, to periodically determine, during the movement of the mounttoward the target position, whether the weapon is aimed at a positionwithin the boundary area surrounding the target point. When determining,during the movement of the mount toward the target position, that theweapon is not aimed at a position within the area surrounding the targetpoint, the semi-autonomous motorized weapon system may disable a manualfiring mechanism of the weapon system to prevent firing of the weapon byan operator, whereas when it is determined during the movement of themount toward the target position, that the weapon is aimed at a positionwithin the area surrounding the target point, the semi-autonomousmotorized weapon system may enable (or re-enable) the manual firingmechanism to allow firing of the weapon. Finally, the semi-autonomousmotorized weapon system may be configured to receive and execute firingcommands from operators, via the manual firing mechanism, thereby firingthe weapon at times when the manual firing mechanism is enabled.

Additional techniques described herein include weapon-agnostic motorizedweapon systems, including weapon-agnostic targeting/firing systems thatmay support various different types or models of weapons, as well asimplementation of operation-specific rules of engagement that may bereceived and enforced by the weapon-agnostic targeting and firingsystems. Further techniques described herein include minimum confidencethresholds for target selection and/or prioritization viasemi-autonomous weapons systems, which may be separate determinationsfrom target identification confidence and/or target verificationconfidence. Still further techniques described herein may includesensor-based real-time projectile firing assessment and automaticcorrection of targeting algorithms based on accuracy evaluations.

The various techniques described herein further include combinations ofautonomous target selection, prioritization, and re-selection bytargeting/firing systems within semi-autonomous motorized weaponsystems, dynamic target tracking of both primary and secondary targetsincluding target movement predictions and weapon/projectilecharacteristics, autonomous motor actuation to automatically orient theweapon toward the primary target before receiving any operator input,simplified user interfaces and operator controls, and enabling/disablingof the firing mechanism depending on the projected point of impact ofthe weapon, thereby providing increased system efficiency, increasedrate of firing, improved weapon system accuracy, and reduced operatorerror, along with the other technical advantages described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a depiction of a motorized weapon system, in accordance withone or more embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating example component architecturediagram of a motorized weapon system, in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 3A-3C are illustrative drawings depicting the mounting andapplication of a motorized weapon system in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present invention, within different engagementenvironments.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example process of using amotorized weapon system to engage one or more targets, in accordancewith certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an example screen of a user interface displayed to an operatorof a motorized weapon system during engagement of one or more targets,in accordance with certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is another example screen of a user interface displayed to anoperator of a motorized weapon system during engagement of one or moretargets, in accordance with certain embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example process of disabling orenabling a firing mechanism of a motorized weapon system duringengagement of the motor to move the weapon, in accordance with certainembodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are example screens of a user interface displayed to anoperator of a motorized weapon system during engagement of the motor tomove the weapon toward a target point, in accordance with certainembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of a computer system configured toperform techniques in accordance with certain embodiments of the presentinvention.

In the appended figures, similar components and/or features may have thesame reference label. Further, various compo of the same type may bedistinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a secondlabel that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the firstreference label is used in the specification, the description isapplicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of various embodiments of the present invention. It willbe apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that embodiments of thepresent invention may be practiced without some of these specificdetails. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shownin block diagram form.

The ensuing description provides exemplary embodiments only, and is notintended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of thedisclosure. Rather, the ensuing description of the exemplary embodimentswill provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description forimplementing an exemplary embodiment. It should be understood thatvarious changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elementswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the appended claims.

Specific details are given in the following description to provide athorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will beunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments maybe practiced without these specific details. For example, circuits,systems, networks, processes, and other components may be shown ascomponents in block diagram form in order not to obscure the embodimentsin unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-known circuits,processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may be shown withoutunnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments.

Also, it is noted that individual embodiments may be described as aprocess which is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flowdiagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchartmay describe the operations as a sequential process, many of theoperations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition,the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process is terminatedwhen its operations are completed, but could have additional steps notincluded in a figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function,a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process correspondsto a function, its termination can correspond to a return of thefunction to the calling function or the main function.

The term “computer-readable medium” includes, but is not limitednon-transitory media such as portable or fixed storage devices, opticalstorage devices, and various other mediums capable of storing,containing or carrying instruction(s) and/or data. A code segment orcomputer-executable instructions may represent a procedure, a function,a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a softwarepackage, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures,or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another codesegment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information,data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments,parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via anysuitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing,network transmission, etc.

Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software,firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or anycombination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middlewareor microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the necessarytasks may be stored in a computer-readable medium. A processor(s) mayperform the necessary tasks.

Various techniques (e.g., methods, systems, computing devices,non-transitory computer-readable storage memory storing a plurality ofinstructions executable by one or more processors, etc.) are describedherein for hardware- and software-based solutions for operatingmotorized weapons systems, including target identification and selectiontechniques, autonomous actuation of motor and targeting systems, dynamictracking, and trajectory measurement and assessment techniques. Certainembodiments described herein correspond to semi-autonomous motorizedweapon systems, which may include various combinations of hardware suchas weapons capable of firing munitions, two-axis and/or three-axismounts configured to support and position the weapons, motors coupled tothe mounts and configured to move the mounts to specified positions tocontrol the direction to which the weapons is aimed, and/or operatorinterface components such as operator controls and a target displaydevice. In some embodiments, such a semi-autonomous motorized weaponsystem may be implemented with various hardware-based and software-basedcomponents configured to determine target points associated with targetsat a remote locations, determine one or more areas having boundariessurrounding the target points, such boundary areas determined based onthe likelihood of the weapon hitting the target when aimed at theboundary in comparison to predetermined likelihood thresholds. Suchembodiments may be further configured to engage the motor of themotorized weapon system, with instructions to move the mount from aninitial position to a target position at which the weapon is aimed atthe target point, and during engagement of the motor, to periodicallydetermine, during the movement of the mount toward the target position,whether the weapon is aimed at a position within the boundary areasurrounding the target point. When determining, during the movement ofthe mount toward the target position, that the weapon is not aimed at aposition within the area surrounding the target point, thesemi-autonomous motorized weapon system may disable a manual firingmechanism of the weapon system to prevent firing of the weapon by anoperator, whereas when it is determined during the movement of the mounttoward the target position, that the weapon is aimed at a positionwithin the area surrounding the target point, the semi-autonomousmotorized weapon system may enable (or re-enable) the manual firingmechanism to allow firing of the weapon. Finally, the semi-autonomousmotorized weapon system may be configured to receive and execute firingcommands from operators, via the manual firing mechanism, thereby firingthe weapon at times when the manual firing mechanism is enabled.

Additional techniques described herein include weapon-agnostic motorizedweapon systems, including weapon-agnostic targeting/firing systems thatmay support various different types or models of weapons, as well asimplementation of operation-specific rules of engagement that may bereceived and enforced by the weapon-agnostic targeting and firingsystems. Further techniques described herein include minimum confidencethresholds for target selection and/or prioritization viasemi-autonomous weapons systems, which may be separate determinationsfrom target identification confidence and/or target verificationconfidence. Still further techniques described herein may includesensor-based real-time projectile firing assessment and automaticcorrection of targeting algorithms based on accuracy evaluations.

The various techniques described herein further include combinations ofautonomous target selection, prioritization, and re-selection bytargeting/firing systems within semi-autonomous motorized weaponsystems, dynamic target tracking of both primary and secondary targetsincluding target movement predictions and weapon/projectilecharacteristics, autonomous motor actuation to automatically orient theweapon toward the primary target before receiving any operator input,simplified user interfaces and operator controls for operating thesemi-autonomous motorized weapon systems, and enabling/disabling of thefiring mechanism depending on the projected point of impact of theweapon, thereby providing increased system efficiency, increased rate offiring, improved weapon system accuracy, and reduced operator error,along with the other technical advantages described herein.

With reference now to FIG. 1, a depiction of an illustrative motorizedweapon system 100 is shown. As shown in this example, weapon system 100may include a weapon 110 with ammunition feed 115, a gimbal mount 120, acamera/sensor unit 125. Additionally, in this example, the weapon system100 includes a base/housing 130, which contains and obscures additionalcomponents of the system 100, including the motor, servos, targetingsystem, processing and memory components, communications system, firingcontrols, and various other components described herein.

In some embodiments, weapon system 100 may be a remotely operated weaponstations (ROWS), including stabilization and auto-targeting technology.The targeting system of weapon system 100 may be configured to performrapid target selection and acquisition, and increased hit probabilities.Weapon system 100 may be compatible with many different types of weapon110 and different corresponding types of ammunition, and as discussedbelow, the operation of the targeting system and other components of theweapon system 100 may depend on knowledge of which type of weapon 110and ammunition is currently in use. As discussed in more detail below,weapon system 100 may be fully integrated, with auto-targetingcapabilities, and/or remote operation. Weapon system 100 also may becapable of being mounted to various different types of platforms,including tripods, buildings, ground vehicles (e.g., trucks, tanks,cars, jeeps), all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), utility task vehicles (UTVs),boats, fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and drones. As described infurther detail below, various embodiments of weapon systems 100 mayinclude capabilities for automatic target detection, selection, andre-selection, active stabilization, automatic ballistic solutions,target tagging, and/or continuous target tracking.

As noted above, weapon 110 may any type of gun, armament, or ordinance,including without limitation, off-the-shelf firearms, large caliberrifles, machine guns, autocannons, grenade launchers, rockets, and/ordirected energy weapons such as lasers, high-power microwave emitters,and other undisclosed devices. The weapon 110 may be attached to theweapon system 100 using a 2-axis or 3-axis mechanical gimbal mount 120,capable of controlling azimuth and yaw, elevation and pitch, andpossibly cant and roll. A closed loop servomotor within the weaponsystem 100 may be configured to drive the gimbal to an identifiedtarget. A firing mechanism within the weapon system may be configured tofire the weapon 110, either electronically or by manually pulling thetrigger, in response to a firing command from a human operator and/oradditional firing instructions received from a targeting/firingcomponent of the weapon system 110.

Camera/sensor unit 125 may include an array of various different sensorsconfigured to collect data at the weapon system 100, and transmit thesensor/image data back to the internal software systems of the weaponsystem 100 (e.g., targeting system/component, firing control, ballisticsengine) and/or to a display device for outputting to an operator.Cameras/sensors within the sensor unit 125 may include, for example,cameras sensitive in various spectrums such as visible and infrared(IR), for day and night visibility, as well as rangefinders (e.g.,LIDAR, RADAR, ultrasonic, etc.) to determine distance to target.Additional sensors within the sensor unit 125 may include rate gyros(e.g., MEMS or fiber optic gyros), which may be used to stabilize theweapon 110 within the mount 120. Magnetometers and accelerometers alsomay be included within the weapon system 100, and may be used forcanceling gyro drift. Accelerometers also may be used to detect andrespond to vehicle accelerations (i.e., when the weapon system 100 ismounted on a vehicle), and vibrations caused by vehicle movement and/orterrain and weather. Sensors 125 also may include wind speed sensors,including hot-wire, laser/LIDAR, sonic and other types of anemometers.Additionally, as described below, a global positioning system (GPS)receiver or other positioning devices may be included within the sensorunit 125, in order to determine the weapon location, head, and velocityto compute firing solutions, and for use in situations where externaltarget coordinates are provided. It should also be understood that foreach of the cameras and/or sensors described above and elsewhere herein,the cameras/sensors may be housed within the sensor unit 125, positionedelsewhere in the weapon system 100, installed on a structure or vehicleon which the weapon system 100 is mounted, or installed at a separateremote location and configured to transmit wireless sensor data back tothe weapon system 100.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram is shown illustrating variouscomponents and systems, and the computing/communication architecturewithin a motorized weapon system. In this example, weapon system 200 maycorrespond to same weapon system 100 discussed above, and/or othervariations of weapon systems described herein. As in the example above,weapon system 200 includes a weapon 225, mount 230, motor 235, and acamera/sensor unit 245. Weapon system 200 also includes atargeting/firing system 210, described below in more detail, which maybe implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware andsoftware. Additionally, weapon system 200 may include operator-facingcomponents, including controls 245 and a display screen 250.

As indicated by the arrows shown in the diagram of weapon system 200,the targeting/firing system 210 may be configured to control drive themotor 235 to a particular target point, and to initiate firing of theweapon 225. The camera/sensor unit 240 may collect image and sensordata, and transmit that data back to the targeting/firing system 210 foruse in target detecting, selection, and tracking functionality. In somecases, image and sensor data may be transmitted directly from the sensorunit 240 to the display 250 for rendering/use in an operator userinterface. The targeting/firing system 210 also may transmit varioustargeting data to the display device 250 for presentation to theoperator, and may receive from the operator firing commands and/or othercontrol commands via the operator controls 245.

In some embodiments, all components of a weapon system 200 may beco-located and installed together as a single integrated system. Forinstance, weapon systems 200 may include turrets or platform-mountedguns which include the weapon/motor 225-235, camera/sensor unit 240,targeting/firing system 210, as well as the operator controls 245 anddisplay 250. However, in other embodiments, some or all of thecomponents of a weapon system 200 may non-integrated and located remotedfrom the others. For example, in some cases the weapon/motor 225-235 anda subset of the sensors/cameras 240 may be located near the potentialtargets, while the targeting/firing system 210 and operator interfacecomponents 245-250 may be in a distance remote location. Certain sensors240 may be located at or near the weapon 225 (e.g., to measure distanceto target, current location, weapon movement and vibration, wind andweather conditions, etc.), while other sensors 240 may be positioned ator near the target and/or at other angles to the target, while stillother sensors or cameras 240 may be remotely located (e.g., drone-basedcameras, satellite imagery, etc.). In embodiments in which certaincomponents of a weapon system 200 are located remotely from others, eachof the components may include network transceivers and interfacesconfigured for secure network communication, including components fordata encryption and transmission over public or private computernetworks, satellite transmission systems, and/or secure short-rangewireless communications, etc.

The targeting/firing system 210 may receive input data from various datasources, and analyze the data to identify, select, and prioritizetargets, actuate the motor 235, dynamically track targets, generatefiring solutions, and control firing of the weapon 225. In order toperform these functions, the targeting/firing system 210 may receivedata from one or more cameras/sensor units 240, including a GPS unit211. The sensor data may include images of targets and potentialtargets, distance/range data, heat or infrared data, audio data, vehicleor weapon location data, vehicle or weapon movement and vibration data,wind and weather condition data, and any other sensor data describedherein. Additionally, one or more data stores may store systemconfiguration and operation data, including a rules data store 213 and aprofiles data store 214. The rules data store 213 may include, forexample, target identification rules, target selection/priority rules,firing rules, and other rules of engagement, each of which may depend onthe particular operation, the current location of the weapon system 200,the individual operator, etc. The profiles data store 213 may include,for example, individual user profiles with user preferences andparameters, weapon profiles, and/or ballistic profiles that may includespecifications for individual weapon types and ammunition types that maybe used to calculate maximize ranges and targeting solutions.Additionally, one or more communication modules 212 within thetargeting/firing system 210 may be used to receive commands and otherdata from the current operator and/or from a separate command centers.As discussed below, commands received from a command center or otherhigher-level authority may be to control the target selection and rulesof engagement for particular operations. Communication modules 212 alsomay be used to receive or retrieve sensor data from remote sensorsystems, including satellite data, image data from remote cameras,target GPS data, weather data, etc. The targeting/firing system 210 mayinclude various components (e.g., targeting component 220) configured toreceive and analyze the various data to performing target functionsincluding subcomponents for target detection 221, target selection 222,target tracking 223, and firing control 215, among others.

The operator controls 245 and display screen 250 may correspond to theinput/output interface between the human operator and the weapon system200. As noted above, certain weapons systems 200 may be fullyautonomous, or may operate in a supervised autonomous mode, in whichcase the operator controls 245 and display screen 250 need not bepresent. Additionally, the operator controls 245 and display screen 250may be remotely located in some embodiments, allowing the operators tocontrol the weapon system 200 from a separate location that may be a fewfeet away or across the globe. The display device 250 may receive andoutput various user interview views to the operator, including viewsdescribed below for identifying and highlighting targets, obscuringnon-targets, rendering target points, weapon trajectories, confidenceranges, and providing various additional sensor readings to theoperator. The operator controls 245 may allow the operator to identify,select, and mark targets, and to fire the weapon 225. As shown in thisexample, the operator controls 245 may include a fire button 246 (tofire the weapon 225), and a “next target” button 247 to instruct thetarget component 220 to re-select the next priority target. In certainembodiments, the operator controls might include only these two buttons,and need not include a joystick for aiming tracking, etc.

Referring briefly to FIGS. 3A-3C, these drawings illustrate theoperation of motorized weapons systems on three different vehicle-basedmounting platforms. In the example of FIG. 3A, a motorized weapon systemis mounted on a stationary or moving vehicle 306. The remote weaponsystem 304 holds the firearm 305, and various sensors may be installedin the frame of reference of the firearm 305, in the frame of referenceof the gimballed remote control, and/or in the frame of reference of thevehicle 306. In these examples, the field of view 307 is represented bydotted lines. A crosshair 301 shows the current projected point ofimpact. In each of FIGS. 3A-3C, the crosshair 301 is not yet on target,and it may be assumed that the motor is engaged driving the firearm tothe target position, or the operator has not yet confirmed the target.The targeting system in these examples shows a primary target 302identified by a doubled-dashed box, and a secondary target which hasbeen identified but not yet targeted, is shown within a singled dashedbox 303. FIG. 3B shows a similar set of components, but in this case,the scenario is a maritime use with an armed boat 306 as the vehicle.FIG. 3C shows yet another scenario in which the vehicle 306 is ahelicopter. FIG. 3C also illustrates that the system may identifymultiple secondary targets 303 within the field of view 307.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a flow diagram is shown illustrating a processby which a motorized weapon system may identify, target, engage, andfire on one or more targets. As described below, the steps in thisprocess may be performed by one or more components in the examplemotorized weapon system 200 discussed above, such as targeting/firingsystem 210 and the subsystems thereof, in conjunction with theweapon/mount/motor components 225-235, one or more sensor units 240,operator interface components 245-250, and/or various remote andexternal systems. However, it should be understood that process stepsdescribed herein, such as target identification and prioritization,dynamic target tracking, semi-autonomous target selection, motoractuation and firing control/locking capabilities, and the like, neednot be limited to the specific systems and hardware implementationsdescribed above in FIGS. 1-3, but may be performed within othermotorized weapon systems and environments comprising other combinationsof the hardware and software components described herein.

In step 401, the components of the motorized weapon system 200 mayidentify and verify one or more targets, using sensor units 240 and/oradditional data sources. In some embodiments, the identification and/orverification of targets may be performed fully autonomously by thesystem 200. For example, image data from cameras and sensor data fromother sensors 240 (e.g., range to target data, heat data, audio, etc.)may be used to identify one or more targets within the range andproximity of the weapon system 200. In some cases, data from additionalsources may be used as well, including imagery or sensor data fromremote sensor or imaging systems (e.g., other weapons systems 200, fixedcameras, drones, satellites, etc.). For example, if sensor unit 240 doesnot include a rangefinder and/or if exact range to target data is notavailable, the targeting/firing system 210 may be configured tocalculate approximate range data using passive ranging techniques. Forexample, heights of known objects (or presumed heights) may be used tocalculate the distance of those objects from the weapon system 200.Additional sources of target data also may be received via communicationmodules 212, which may include the GPS coordinates of targets, orbearing to targets, received from a command center. Such image data andother sensor data received from additional data sources may be used bythe targeting/firing system 210 to triangulate or confirm a target'slocation, or verify the identity of a target, etc.

As used herein, target identification and target verification refer torelated but separate techniques. Target identification (or targetdetection) refers to the analysis of camera images, sensor data, etc.,to detect objects and identify the detected object as potential targetsfor the weapon system 200 (e.g., vehicles, structures, weapons,individuals, etc.), rather than generally non-target objects such asrocks, trees, hills, shadows, and the like. Target verification (ortarget confirmation) refers to additional analyses of the sameimages/sensor data, and/or additional sources images/sensor data, todetermine whether or not the identified potential target should beselected for targeting by the weapon system 200. Target verificationtechniques may be based on the configuration of the system andpriorities of the particular mission, etc. For example, targetverification techniques for vehicles may include identifying the size ofa vehicle target (e.g., based on image analysis, target range, heatsignatures from engines, etc.), the vehicle type (e.g., based on imageanalysis, and comparisons to a database 214 of target/non-targetimages), the presence of weapons on a target or proximate to a target,etc. For example, the size, shape, color, movement, audio and heatsignatures of a vehicle may be analyzed to determine if that vehicle isa drone, helicopter, aircraft, boat, tank, truck, jeep, or car, whetherthe target is a military or civilian vehicle, the number of individualsand/or weapons on the vehicle, and the like, all of which may be used bea rules database 213 to determine whether the vehicle is a targetnon-target. Target verification also may include identifying particularinsignia on targets, and for human targets, facial recognition and/orbiometric recognition to confirm the identity of the target.

In some cases, both target identification and target verification instep 401 may be performed fully autonomously by the weapon system 200,using the techniques described above. In other cases, targetidentification and/or verification may include semi-autonomous or manualsteps. For example, the rules of engagement for particular operationsmay require that each target be visually confirmed by a human operator.Such visual confirmation may be performed by the operator, as describedin steps 406-407 below. Additionally or alternatively, the visualconfirmation may be received from a different user, such as a commandingofficer at a remote command center or other authorized user. In suchcases, the weapon system 200 may be configured to transmit imagery andother sensor data to one or more remote locations, and then to receivethe instructions identifying the potential target as a selected targetor a non-target, from the remote authorized user/command center via acommunication module 212. These remote visual confirmation techniquesmay be entirely transparent with respect to the operator of the weaponsystem 200 in some cases, that is, if a target is not selected/confirmedby a remote authorized user then that target might not ever be renderedor selected via the operator display device and/or might not beselectable by the operator during steps 406-407.

As noted above, both target identification and target selection in step401 may be based on sets of rules received via a rules database 213 orother sources. Target selection rules may be based on target type (e.g.,types of vehicles, individuals (if any), and structures, etc.), targetsize, target distance, the presence and types of weapons on a target,the uniform/insignia on a target, and the like. Additional rules mayrelate to the probability that the target has been accurately identified(e.g., level of confidence of facial recognition, vehicle typeidentification, insignia recognition, etc.), the probability that theweapon system 200 will be able to hit the selected target (e.g., basedon target distance, target movement, weapon and ammunition type, windand weather conditions, etc.), and/or the presence of potentialcollateral damage that may occur if the target is fired upon (e.g.,based on detection of friendly and non-targets in the proximity of theidentified target). Different sets of rules may be applied for differentoperators, different weapons 225 and ammunition types, different times,and/or different physical locations for the engagement. For instance,while one set of target identification, selection, and prioritizationrules may be selected and applied by the targeting/firing system 210 foran engagement with a particular operator, at a particular date and time,using a particular weapon/ammunition type, in a particularcountry/region of the engagement, having particular lighting or weatherconditions, and so on, an entirely different set of targetidentification, selection, and prioritization rules may be selected andapplied by the targeting/firing system 210 if one or more of thesevariables (e.g., operator, time, weapon or ammunition type, engagementlocation or environmental conditions, etc.) changes.

In step 402, for scenarios in which multiple targets have beenidentified and selected in step 401, the targeting/firing system 210 ofthe motorized weapon system 200 may be configured to prioritize themultiple targets, thereby determining a firing order. As with thetechniques for target identification and selection described above,target prioritization techniques similarly may be on imagery and sensordata, as well as sets of operational rules that may apply to operators,weapons, locations, etc. Examples of target prioritization rules mayinclude, without limitation, rules that prioritize vehicles over humantargets, certain types of vehicles over other types of vehicles, armoredvehicles over non-armored vehicles, armed targets over non-armedtargets, uniformed/insignia targets over non-uniformed or insigniatargets, close targets over far targets, advancing targets overstationary or retreating targets, higher confidence targets (i.e.,higher probability of weapon being able to hit the target) over lowerconfidence targets, targets firing weapons over targets not firingweapons, and/or any combination of these criteria. In some examples, thetargeting/firing system 210 may evaluate the current target distance andtrajectory of all advancing and armed targets (e.g., missiles, drones,ground vehicles, and individuals, etc.), in order to prioritize thetargets in the order in which they would first reach the currentposition (or future position) of the weapon system 200. These targetprioritization rules also may include rules determining how particulartypes of targets may be targeted. For example, such rules may includethe desired point of impact for a particular target type (e.g., theengine of boat, the center of mass of an individual, etc.).

Additionally, different sets of rules or algorithms may be applied forprioritizing targets, depending on the current operator, currentlocation, current date/time, and/or based on predefinedoperation-specific rules of engagement. Further, rules or algorithms forprioritization may be based on or adjusted in view of currentconditions, such as the current amount of ammunition of the weaponsystem 200 (e.g., lower ammunition circumstances may causeprioritization of most valuable/important targets first), the currentwind or weather conditions (e.g., in which closer and/or higherconfidence targets may be prioritized), or based on nearby friendly ornon-hostile targets (e.g., in which closer and/or higher confidencetargets may be prioritized). Additionally, certain prioritizingalgorithms may adjust the priorities of a set of targets to reduceand/or minimize the lag time between successive firings of the weapon,for instance, by prioritizing a set of nearby targets successively inthe priority rank order, in order to reduce the firing latency timerequired to drive the weapon 225 through the sequence of targets.

In various embodiments, operators may be permitted to switch on-the-flybetween different rules or algorithms for target selection andprioritization. Such switching capabilities may be based the rank and/orauthorization level of the operator, and in some cases may require thata request for approval be transmitted from the weapons system 200 to ahigh-level user at a remote command center.

Referring briefly to FIG. 5, a display screen is shown displaying anexample user interface 500 that may be generated by a motorized weaponsystem 200 during engagement of a set of targets. In this example, aplurality of targets have been identified and selected within the rangeand proximity of the weapon system 200. The targets have beenprioritized to select a primary target 501, several secondary targets502, and several non-targets 503 (e.g., friendly or non-hostile vehiclesor individuals). In this example, the primary target 501 is indicatedwith a double dotted line, the secondary targets 502 are indicated witha single dotted line, and the non-targets have no lines. It should beunderstood that different types of user interface indicators may be usedin other embodiments, such a green border (or other color) for theprimary target 501, and a different color for secondary targets 502. Insome examples, the secondary targets 502 might not be indicated at allon the user interface 500, until a secondary target 502 becomes theprimary target 501. In other examples, only N number of the secondarytargets 502 might be identified on user interface 500, such as the onlynext highest priority target 502, or the two next highest prioritytargets, etc. Additionally, non-targets 503 may be entirely obscured orblocked out, so as not to distract the operator. Crosshairs 505 are alsodisplayed in this example, representing the point at which the weapon225 of the weapon system 200 is currently aimed.

Finally, example user interface 500 includes two operator controls: afire button 510 to allow the user to fire the weapon 225, and a nextbutton 515 to allow the user to select the next target in the prioritylist. In this example, fire button 510 is shaded indicating that theweapon 225 cannot currently be fired. As described below in more detail,this may represent a feature in which the operator's firing controlmechanism 246 is disabled whenever the weapon 225 is not currently aimedat a selected target. However, it will be noted that the next button 515is enabled in this example, indicating that the next mechanism 247 thatallows the operator to change the primary target 501 to the next highestpriority target 502 in the priority list may be enabled even when thecrosshairs 505 are not yet positioned on the primary target 501.

The kill chain sequence may continue by performing the functionality ofsteps 403-410 in a continuous loop for each of the targets selected instep 401, and in the priority order of the target prioritizationperformed in step 402. Therefore, the first iteration of steps 403-410may be performed for the highest priority target, the second iterationof steps 403-410 may be performed for the second highest prioritytarget, and so on.

In step 404, for the current highest priority target in theprioritization list, the targeting/firing system 210 may perform adynamic tracking technique to determine a firing solution for thattarget. A firing solution refers to a precise firing position for theweapon (e.g., an azimuth/horizontal angle and altitude/elevation angle)and a precise firing time calculated by the targeting/firing system 210to hit the primary target. For stationary targets, target tracking neednot be performed, and the firing solution may be computed based on anumber of factors, including the target distance and target bearing fromthe weapon 225, the muzzle velocity of the weapon 225, the aerodynamicdrag of the projectile/ammunition to be fired, the wind and weatherconditions, and gravity (any one of which may vary based on the currentconditions).

When the target is moving and/or anticipated to be moving, dynamictarget tracking may be required to generate a firing solution,introducing additional variables which may increase the complexity anduncertainty of the firing solution calculation. Initially, dynamictarget tracking may involve calculating the anticipated direction andvelocity of the target. In some embodiments, the targeting/firing system210 may assume that the primary target will continue along its currentcourse with the same velocity and direction. If the target is currentlymoving along a curved path, and/or is currently accelerating ordecelerating, then the targeting/firing system 210 may assume the samecurved path and/or the same acceleration/declaration pattern, and mayextrapolate out based on those variables. Further, in some embodiments,the targeting/firing system 210 may anticipate future changes in courseor speed, based on factors such as upcoming obstructions in the target'spath, curves in roads, previous flight patterns, etc.

In addition to dynamically tracking the target in order to anticipatethe future position of the target, the determination of a firingsolution for a moving target also may take into account the anticipatedtime to drive the motor 235 so that the weapon is positioned at thecorrect firing point, and the anticipated amount of time between thefiring command and when the projectile/ammunition will reach the target.The time to drive the motor 235 may be calculated based on the distancethe gun is to be driven, the speed of the motor and/or the weight of theweapon 225. The amount of time between receiving a firing command andwhen the projectile/ammunition will reach the target may be based on themuzzle velocity of the weapon 225, the aerodynamic drag of theprojectile/ammunition to be fired, the wind and weather conditions, etc.Additionally, in some cases, an anticipated delay for operator reactiontime (e.g., 0.5 seconds, 1 second) also may be included in the firingsolution calculation.

Referring briefly to FIG. 6, another example user interface 600 is shownthat may be generated by a motorized weapon system 200 during engagementof one or more targets. In this example, only a single primary target601 is shown, and the targeting/firing system 210 has assessed that thetarget 601 is moving toward the lower-right direction of the interface600. Based on the factors discussed above, namely (a) the anticipatedmovement of the target 601, (b) the time required to engage the motor235 and drive the weapon to the firing point, and (c) the time for theprojectile/ammunition to be fired and reach the target, thetargeting/firing system 210 may calculate the firing solution. In thisexample, the crosshairs 605 represents the point at which the weapon 225is currently aimed, the point 606 represents the desired point of impacton the target 601, and point 607 represents the firing solutiondetermined by the targeting/firing system 210. As shown in userinterface 600, the motor 235 is currently re-positioning the weapontoward the firing solution point 607, and the firing solutioncomputation has taken into account the time reposition the weapon 225and the projectile time-to-target. Potentially, the firing solutioncomputation also may take into account a short time delay to fire theweapon, and/or an anticipated operator decision time delay.

Further, example interface 600 also includes three operator controls: afire button 610, a next button 615, and a safe button 620. As discussedabove, the fire button 610 allows the operator to fire the weapon 225,but in some cases might be enabled only after the weapon 225 has reachedthe firing solution point 607. The next button 615 allows the operatornot to fire the weapon 225 at the primary target 601, but instead tore-select the next highest priority target in the priority list. In thisexample, the primary target 601 may be moved to the back of the prioritylist or elsewhere in the priority list, based on the operator'sselection of the next control 615. Finally, the safe button 620 allowsthe operator to mark the currently selected primary target 601 as afriendly or non-target object, thereby removing it from the set ofselected targets determined in step 401 and priority list of step 402.Thus, after an operator has marked a target using the safe mechanism615, it may not be selected again by the targeting/firing system 210, atleast during the current engagement by the current weapon system 200. Insome embodiments, the configuration settings of the targeting/firingsystem 210 may determine that a target marked as safe by an operatorduring one engagement might thereafter be excluded from targetselection/prioritization in future engagements. Additional oralternatively, weapon system 200 may transmit data identifying anytargets marked as safe to other weapons systems 200 in the same generallocation, so that those other weapons systems 200 may automaticallyremove the target marked as safe from their targetselection/prioritization lists as well.

Although step 404 was described above as performed for only a singletarget (i.e., the current highest priority target), in some embodiments,the targeting/firing system 210 may continuously performing dynamictracking for all targets selected/prioritized in steps 401-402. In suchcases, by performing dynamic tracking on the selected secondarytarget(s), before the completion of the firing sequence 403-410 for theprimary target, the targeting/firing system 210 may more quickly andefficiently determine the firing solution for the next primary target assoon as the firing sequence 403-410 is completed for the first primarytarget. Additionally, while dynamically tracking a plurality ofsecondary target(s), the targeting/firing system 210 may potentiallyre-order the prioritization sequence determined in step 402, forexample, based on movement of the secondary targets and/or based onnewly received data about one or more of the secondary targets (e.g.,improved verification information, additional threat information, etc.).

In step 405, the targeting/firing system 210 may engage the motor 235 todrive the orientation of the weapon 225 toward the firing solutiondetermined for the primary target in step 404 Thus, referring again toFIG. 6, the motor 235 may be engaged to aim the weapon 225 from itscurrently aimed position 605, to the determined firing solution point607. It may be noted from this example, that (a) the weapon 225 may bedriven not toward the current position point of the target 606, butinstead to the future position point 607, and (b) that the motor 235 maybe engaged and the weapon 225 may be driven to this point by thetargeting/firing system 210 in a fully autonomous manner, before anyaction has been taken by the operator to view, select, mark, or engagethis target.

In step 406, the targeting/firing system 210 may generate and transmit auser interface to be rendered for the operator via one or more displaydevices 250. As discussed above, the human operator may be located atthe weapon system 200 or remote to the weapon system 200, in which casethe user interface may be transmitted via the communication module 212over one or more secure computer networks, wireless networks, satellitenetworks, etc. In various embodiments, the user interface provided instep 406 may correspond to user interfaces 500 and/or 600 discussedabove, although several variations may be implemented in differentembodiments. For instance, as noted above, the primary target 501 may bemarked by a particular scheme that is different from the secondarytargets and from non-targets. In some cases, the user interface mayautomatically zoom in on the primary target (as in screen 600) to allowthe operator the best possible visual of the target. Additionally oralternatively, secondary targets and/or non-targets may be blocked out,hidden, or otherwise obscured to prevent confusion or distraction by theoperator. Further, in different embodiments, each of the variousdifferent target points discussed above (e.g., crosshairs 605representing current weapon aiming point, the current target positionpoint 606, and/or firing solution target point 607) may or may not berendered within the user interface, and/or may be shown in differentcolors, using different graphics and icons, etc. Finally, the userinterface generated and rendered in step 406 may include additionalcomponents such as side menus, overlays, and the like, to convey anyrelevant sensor information about the target or the firing environment.Examples of such sensor that may be included in the operator userinterface may include the target type, target name/identifier ofverified (if known) and confidence level of the verifiedname/identifier, distance to target, current wind and weatherconditions, current status of weapon 225 and ammunition supply, numberof other secondary targets, etc.

In step 407, the targeting/firing system 210 may receive engagementinstructions from the operator, via operator controls 245. Asillustrated in FIG. 5, in some embodiments, the operator controls mightonly include two buttons: a fire button and next button. Or, asillustrated in FIG. 6, the operator controls might include only threebuttons: a fire button, a next button, and safe button. Although anynumber of different/additional operator controls may be included inother embodiments (e.g., mouse/joystick for aiming, manual override,target selection controls, etc.), there are certain technical advantagesassociated with a limited interface such as a two-button or three-buttoninterface as shown 500-600, including simplification of operatorinterface, reduction or real-time operator errors, increased speed toweapon firing, etc.

Additionally, as noted above during the discussion of the dynamic targettracking, there may be time delay between steps 406 and 407, for targetanalysis, evaluation, and decision-making by the operator. During thistime delay, the dynamic tracking may continue for the primary target aswell as the secondary targets selected by the targeting/firing system210. Thus, while the operator deliberates on whether or not to fire on atarget between steps 406 and 407, for moving targets and/or othercircumstances (e.g., a detected change in the wind), the firing solutionmay be updated during this time delay and the motor 235 may becontinuously engaged so that the weapon 225 is continuously aimed at themost recent firing solution target point. Additionally, for excessdelays or deliberations between steps 406 and 407, the targetidentification, selection, and prioritization techniques discussed abovein steps 401 and 402 may be updated, automatically and entirelytransparently to the operator, to re-select and re-prioritize thetargets based on new imagery, sensor data, and other relevant datareceived during the time delay between steps 406-407.

After receiving the firing/engagement instructions from the operator instep 407, the targeting/firing system 210 may perform the receivedinstructions in steps 408-410. In this example, similar to that shown inFIG. 6, there are only three possible operator instructions with respectto the primary target shown in the user interface: fire on the target(step 408), do not fire on the target and proceed to the next target(step 409), and do not fire on the target and mark the target as anon-target (step 410). As discussed above, the fire command (408) is anoperator instruction to fire the weapon 225, and in some cases might beenabled only after the weapon 225 has reached the firing solution targetpoint. When the operator selects the fire button 246 (or other firecommand) in step 408, the targeting/firing system 210 may initiatefiring of the weapon 225, and then return to perform steps 403-410 forthe next highest priority target. Additionally, in some embodiments, thetargeting/firing system 210 may be configured to evaluate the accuracyof the projectile fired in step 410, and may perform a real-timeautomatic correction in the targeting algorithm based on the accuracyevaluation. For example, upon firing a shot in step 410, thetargeting/firing system 210 may be configured to activate one or morecameras or sensors from sensor units 240 (which may be local or remote),to detect the landing time and location of the projectile. Additionalsensors such as audio sensors, heat sensors, etc., also may be used todetermine where the projectile hit/landed. The projectile landing/hitdata may compared to the firing solution/target point data that wasdetermined by the targeting/firing system 210 prior to firing theprojectile. If the shot was off target by an amount greater than apredetermined accuracy threshold, then the targeting/firing system 210may be configured to adjust its targeting algorithm in real-time, sothat the updated algorithm may be used in the next iteration of steps403-410. Additionally, if the shot was off target by a sufficient amountthat the target was missed, then the targeting/firing system 210 may befurther configured to re-insert the previously fired upon target backinto the priority list of selected targets.

The next command (step 409) is an operator instruction not to fire theweapon 225 at the target, but to retain the target within the set ofselected targets/target priority list, and then to re-select the nexthighest priority target in the priority list. In various examples, anext command in step 409 may cause the target to be placed at the backof the priority list of selected targets, or may cause the target toplaced immediately after the next highest priority target in thepriority list. Finally, a safe command (step 410) is an operatorinstruction to mark the target as a friendly or non-target object,thereby removing it from the set of selected targets and target prioritylist. Thus, after step 410, the target may not be selected again by thetargeting/firing system 210, during at least the current engagement bythe current weapon system 200. As noted above, in some embodiments, atarget marked as safe during step 410 during an engagement at one weaponsystem 200 also might be excluded from target selection in futureengagements of the weapon system 200, and/or during current and futureengagements at different weapons systems 200.

Thus, the various techniques discussed above with reference to FIG. 4,including without limitation: (a) autonomous target selection,prioritization, and re-selection by the targeting/firing system 210, (b)dynamic target tracking of both the primary target and secondary targetsthat takes into account target movement, weapon/projectilecharacteristics, etc., (c) autonomous actuation of the motor toautomatically orient the weapon toward the primary target beforereceiving any operator input, (d) a simplified user interface andoperator controls, and (e) enabling/disabling of the firing mechanismdepending on the projected point of impact of the weapon, alone and incombination, provide increased system efficiency, increased rate offiring, improved weapon system accuracy, and reduced operator error,along with the other technical advantages described herein.

As mentioned above, certain aspects of the present disclosure relate totechniques for disabling and re-enabling an operator firing control(e.g., 246), during the period of time when the motor 235 of a motorizedweapon system 200 is engaged and the weapon 225 is being positioned andoriented toward a determined target point for firing. The process ofengaging the motor 235 of the weapon system 200 to position the weapon225 to fire on a particular target point may take anywhere from afraction of second to several seconds, depending on factors size as themotor size and speed, gun size and weight, angular distance to betraveled, etc. During the time period when the motor 235 is engaged inpositioning the weapon 225, the projected point of impact of aprojectile fired from the weapon 225 may become closer and closer to thetarget point, and similarly, the likelihood of hitting the target mayincrease continuously until a maximum likelihood is reached when theprojected point of impact of the weapon 225 (e.g., marked by crosshairs505, 605, etc.) is directly on the determined firing solution targetpoint. Because many unknown variables may exist during the weapon firingprocess (e.g., exact target distance and bearing, exact muzzle velocityand aerodynamic drag of projectile, future target movement, exact windand air pressure conditions, exact weapon vibration, and so on), theprobability of hitting the target might never be 100%. However, when thelikelihood of hitting the target is determined to be sufficiently high,e.g., above a predetermined likelihood threshold, then thetargeting/firing system 210 may be configured to enable firing of theweapon 225 (and/or automatically fire the weapon 225).

Accordingly, in some embodiments, the targeting/firing system 210 may beconfigured to determine if/when the predetermined likelihood thresholdfor hitting the target is reached during the time period when the motor235 is engaged in positioning the weapon 225, but before the crosshairs505 are directly on the target (i.e., before the projected point ofimpact of the weapon 225 is directly on the determined firing solutiontarget point). In such embodiments, the targeting/firing system 210 maybe configured to disable the operator firing mechanism 246 when thecurrent likelihood of hitting the target is below the predeterminedlikelihood threshold, based on the position/orientation of the weapon225 and other factors. The operator firing mechanism 246 then may bere-enabled in response to the targeting/firing system 210 determiningthat the current likelihood of hitting the target is above thepredetermined likelihood threshold. These aspects are described below inmore detail with reference to FIGS. 7-8.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a flow diagram is shown illustrating a processof disabling and/or re-enabling the firing mechanism of a motorizedweapon system while the motor is engaged to move the weapon to a targetpoint. As described below, the steps in this process may be performed byone or more components in the example motorized weapon system 200discussed above, such as targeting/firing system 210 and the subsystemsthereof, in conjunction with the weapon/mount/motor components 225-235,one or more sensor units 240, operator interface components 245-250,and/or various remote and external systems. However, it should beunderstood that process steps described herein, such as determination oflikelihood thresholds for hitting targets, and corresponding boundaryareas for motorized weapons systems, need not be limited to the specificsystems and hardware implementations described above in FIGS. 1-3, butmay be performed within other motorized weapon systems and environmentscomprising other combinations of the hardware and software componentsdescribed herein.

In step 701, a motorized weapon system 200 has identified and selected aparticular target, and determines a firing solution and/or target pointfor the selected target. Thus, step 701 may be similar or identical tostep 404 discussed above. As noted above, one or both of the target andthe weapon system 200 may potentially be moving during this process.When both the targets and the weapon 225 are stationary, target trackingneed not be performed, and the firing solution target point may becomputed based on factors including the target distance, target bearingfrom the weapon 225, muzzle velocity of the weapon 225, aerodynamic dragof the projectile/ammunition to be fired, the wind and weatherconditions, and gravity (any one of which may vary based on the currentconditions). However, when one or both of the selected target and theweapon 225 are moving and/or are anticipated to be moving, dynamictarget tracking may be required to generate a firing solution, andadditional variables may increase the complexity and uncertainty of thefiring solution calculation. For example, dynamic target tracking may beused to determine the current velocity and direction of travel of boththe weapon system 200 and the target, and that data may be used tocalculate the anticipated velocity and direction of travel of both inthe near future. In some cases, the targeting/firing system 210 mayassume that both the weapon system 200 and the target may continue alongtheir current course with the same velocity and direction, and if eitheris currently moving along a curved path and/or is currentlyaccelerating/decelerating, then the targeting/firing system 210 mayassume the same curved path and/or the same acceleration/declaration inthe near future. As noted above, when performing dynamical tracking on amoving target, the determination of a firing solution (e.g., predictedfuture coordinates at a future firing time) also may take into accountthe anticipated time to engage the motor 235 to position and orient theweapon at the correct firing point, as well as the anticipated time lagfor the fired projectile to reach the target. Additionally, in somecases, the targeting/firing system 210 may build in an anticipated delayfor operator reaction time (e.g., 0.5 seconds, 1 second) which may beincluded in the firing solution calculations for moving targets.

In step 702, the targeting/firing system 210 of the motorized weaponsystem 200 may determine a boundary area surrounding the target pointdetermined in step 701. In some examples, the boundary area may bereferred to as a “confidence lock” boundary, because as discussed below,the firing mechanism may be disabled when the projected point of impactof the weapon is outside of this area. From the perspective of theweapon system 200, the boundary area may be a circle or othertwo-dimensional closed shape surrounding the target point. A simpleexample of a circular boundary area 807 is shown in FIGS. 8A-8B,discussed in more detail below. The boundaries of the area maycorrespond to a predetermined likelihood threshold of hitting the targetand need not be any particular shape. That is, when the projected pointof impact of the weapon 225 is directly on any point of the boundary ofthe area, the likelihood of the weapon 225 hitting the target may becalculated as a probability P, which may be the same for every point onthe boundary of the area and is also the same as a predeterminedlikelihood threshold set by the targeting/firing system 210. Thus, forany shot taken when the weapon crosshairs are outside of the boundaryarea, the likelihood of hitting the target is less than P, and for anyshot taken when the weapon crosshairs are inside of the boundary area,the likelihood of hitting the target is greater than P.

In some embodiments, the boundary area may be circular, as shown inFIGS. 8A-8B. Circular boundaries may generally apply when the determinedprobability P is the probability of the hitting the target point.However, if the determined probability P is the probability of hittingany point on the target, then the boundary area may be target-shaped(e.g., a larger vehicle-shaped boundary surrounding the target vehicle,a larger person-shaped boundary surrounding the target person, etc.).When either the target or the weapon system 200 is current moving, theboundary area may assume a more elongated shape in the direction of themovement, to account for the additional targeting uncertainties causedby the movement of the weapon system 200 or target. For example, for ahorizontally moving target vehicle and/or horizontally moving weaponsystem, the boundary area may be shaped like a horizontally-elongatedcircle (or horizontally-elongated vehicle shape). In any of theseexamples, the boundary area may be defined in terms of angularcoordinates (e.g., azimuth and altitude) from the perspective of theweapon 225.

The size of the boundary area determined in step 702 may be based on anycombination of factors that may introduce uncertainty in the point ofimpact calculation of the weapon 225 with respect to the target. Forinstance, the size of the boundary area (e.g., in terms of angulardegrees or coordinates) may be based on one or more of the target size,distance between the weapon 225 and the target, the general accuracy andprecision data for the weapon type 225 and ammunition type, and otherfactors such as wind, vibration level of the weapon 225 during movementby the motor, and current movement of the weapon system 200 and/or thetarget. In scenarios where there is a high degree of confidence in thepredictive accuracy of the weapon's crosshairs, the boundary area may berelatively small. In contrast, for scenarios of greater uncertainty ofthe relevant variables, and where the confidence level is in thepredictive accuracy of the weapon's crosshairs is lower, than theboundary area may be relatively large.

In step 703, the targeting/firing system 210 engages the motor 235 toposition and orient the weapon 225 toward the target point identified instep 701. Thus, step 703 may be similar or identical to step 405,discussed above. For example, referring back to FIG. 6, if the target601 is stationary, then the engagement of the motor 635 may drive theposition and orientation of the weapon 225 to a predicted point ofimpact of the stationary target point 606. If the target 601 is moving,then the engagement of the motor 635 may drive the position andorientation of the weapon 225 to a separate predicted future targetpoint (e.g., 607) determined by a firing solution calculation based onpredicted target movement and anticipated time delays until firing andimpact.

In step 704, at a particular point of time when the motor 235 is engagedand the weapon 225 is moving, the targeting/firing system 210 maycompute the projected point of impact if a projectile were fired fromthe weapon 225 at that time. The projected point of impact correspondsto the calculation of the crosshairs (e.g., 505 and 605) discussed aboveand shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The calculation of the projected point ofimpact may be based on the specifications of the weapon system 200and/or collected sensor data, such as the current position andorientation of the gun, the distance to target and bearing of the targetfrom the weapon 225, the muzzle velocity of the weapon 225, theaerodynamic drag of the projectile to be fired, the current wind andweather conditions, and gravity (which may vary based on the currentelevation).

In step 705, the targeting/firing system 210 may compare the projectedpoint of impact computed in step 704 to the “confidence lock” boundaryarea defined in step 702. This may be straightforward comparison ofangular coordinates from the perspective of the weapon 225. If thecurrent point of impact of the weapon 225 is projected to fall outsideof the defined boundary area (705:No), then in step 706 thetargeting/firing system 210 may disable the operator firing mechanism246 thereby preventing the weapon 225 from being fired. However, if thecurrent point of impact of the weapon 225 is projected to fall withinthe defined boundary area (705:Yes), then in step 707 thetargeting/firing system 210 may enable (or re-enable) the operatorfiring mechanism 246, thereby allowing the operator to fire the weapon225.

In some embodiments, after the operator firing mechanism 246 has beenre-enabled in step 707, and the operator fires on the target, thetargeting/firing system 210 may be configured to perform a rapidpost-firing command movement of the weapon 225 in order to furtherimprove shot confidence. For instance, after the operator pushes theenabled firing mechanism 246, rather than immediately firing the weapon225, the targeting/firing system 210 in some cases may engage the motor235 for a short amount of time (e.g., 50 ms, 100 ms, 200 ms, etc.), inresponse to a determination that the corresponding small weapon movementmay significantly increase shot confidence. These short post-firingcommand movements may be performed in the case of moving targets and/ormoving weapon systems 200, in the event of a sudden change in thetrajectory of the target, to correct for a lag in operator reactiontime, and/or as part of a firing burst to increase hit probability.

Referring briefly to FIGS. 8A and 8B, two example user interface screens800 are shown, during a process of engaging the motor 235 of a motorizedweapon system 200 to position and orient the weapon 225 at a selectedtarget point 806. In these examples, a circular “confidence lock”boundary area 807 has been defined by the targeting/firing system 210,outside of which firing of the weapon 225 is to be disabled. As shown inFIG. 8A, when the projected point of impact 805 of the weapon 225 fallsoutside of the boundary area 225, the operator may be unable to fire theweapon 225 (as indicated by the shaded fire button 810). In FIG. 8B, themotor 235 has now oriented the weapon 225 closer to the target point806, and the projected point of impact 805 now falls within the boundaryarea 807. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8B, the fire button is nowre-enabled allowing the weapon 225 to be fired by the user. It isfurther noted in this example that the next button 815 and the safebutton 820, which are discussed above in reference to FIGS. 5-6, areactive and enabled regardless of the current orientation of the weapon225.

As further shown in FIG. 7, the functionality of steps 704-707 may beperformed multiple times while the motor 235 is engaged and the weapon225 is moving toward the target point. In some embodiments,targeting/firing system 210 may perform steps 704-707 on a continuousloop at all times while the motor 235 is engaged, or in some cases evenwhen the motor 235 is not engaged. Additionally or alternatively, thetargeting/firing system 210 may be configured to initiate an instance ofsteps 704 in accordance with a schedule (e.g., every 100 ms, 200 ms, 500ms, etc.).

As mentioned above, these steps may be performed periodically orcontinuously even when the motor 235 is not moving and the crosshairs805 are fixed on the target point 806. In these scenarios, a new actionsuch as a change in movement of the target 801 or the weapon system 200,an object obscuring the target 801, and/or new sensor readings (e.g., achange in wind conditions) may temporarily cause the probability levelof the weapon 225 hitting the target to drop below the predeterminelikelihood threshold and out of the confidence lock boundary area 807,requiring a minor adjust via the motor 235 or other corrective action bythe weapon system 200.

Using similar techniques to those discussed above in referenced to FIG.7, certain embodiments of a motorized weapon system 200 may implement aminimum confidence threshold for target selection and/or prioritization.In some cases, this minimum confidence threshold may be a separatedetermination from the level of confidence computed by the system 200for identifying or verifying a target. Rather, this minimum confidencethreshold may refer to the level of confidence that the weapon system200 is able to hit the identified target. For example, if an identifiedand verified target is too far away from weapon system 200, is movingtoo fast or too erratically, is too small, is not within a sufficientlydirect line-of-sight of the weapon 225, then the targeting/firing system210 may determine that the confidence level that the weapon system 200will hit the target is not sufficiently high to fire the weapon 235.Environmental conditions such as wind or weather conditions, lightingconditions, and/or other objects potentially obscuring the target objectalso may lower the confidence level computed by the targeting/firingsystem 210 for hitting the target. In such embodiments, when theconfidence level computed by the targeting/firing system 210 falls belowthe predetermined threshold for target, that target may be automaticallydeprioritized so that it is not selectable by the operator (orselectable only via manual override). However, the targeting/firingsystem 210 may continue to monitor and dynamically track thelow-confidence target, and may re-enable target selection and firingcapabilities on that target as soon as the confidence level of hittingthe target returns to above the minimum confidence threshold. Theminimum confidence threshold is another operation-specific variable thatmay be altered based on the operation, the particular operator, thelocation, and other factors.

In some embodiments, over the course of a particular operation (ormultiple operations at or near the same location) the firing/targetingsystem 210 may continuously assess and evaluate its target accuracy,which may result the system 210 increasing or decreasing the confidencelevels it had previously computed for one or more selected targets. Asan example, if a first target is initially determined to be too smalland too far away to have a sufficiently high confidence level for firingon the target, the firing/targeting system 210 may instead select anumber of closer targets and may fire on those targets. Then, byanalyzing the firing trajectories and accuracies of hitting the closertargets, the firing/targeting system 210 may be better able to evaluatethe range, lighting, wind conditions, and the like, so that theconfidence level for the hitting the first target now may be increasedbased on the accuracy feedback from the closer targets.

As demonstrated in the above examples, a motorized weapon system 200 maybe weapon-agnostic, in that a weapon system 200 may support manydifferent types or models of weapons 235, including various firearms,large caliber rifles, machine guns, autocannons, grenade launchers,rockets, and/or directed energy weapons such as lasers, high-powermicrowave emitters, and other undisclosed devices. Further, thetargeting/firing system 210 may weapon profiles in data store 214 and/orweapon-specific rules in data store 213, that allow the weapon system200 to perform the techniques discussed herein in a similar or identicalmanner regardless of the current weapon type. In some embodiments, thetargeting/firing system 210, sensor units 240, and the operatorinterface 245-250 may function identically regardless of the type ofmotor 235, mount 230, and weapon 225 integrated into the system 200.Because systems 200 having different types of weapons 225, mounts 230,and/or motors 235, may perform differently in some respects (e.g., timerequired to re-position and re-orient the weapon 225, maximum range ofweapon, type, size, and speed of projectiles fired, etc.), thetargeting/firing system 210 may be configured to initially determinethese weapon-specific data factors, and adjust the techniques describedherein to provide a uniform operator experience.

For instance, the targeting/firing system 210 of a first weapon system200 may automatically select targets based on the firing range of theweapon 225 installed on that system 200, whereas a different system 200might select more or less targets based on its having a weapon 225 witha different range. In other example, a first weapon system 200 mayprioritize a set of selected targets taking into account the speed ofthe motor 235 on that system 200, whereas a different system 200 mightprioritize the same set of targets differently as a result of having adifferent motor speed. As yet another example, different sensor units240 have different numbers, types, and/or qualities of cameras and othersensors, may result in different sets of input provided to thetargeting/firing systems 210. As a result, a first weapon system 200 mayhave sufficient data to select and verify a target with high confidence,while a second weapon system 200 with different cameras/sensors 240would not select because it could not verify the target with asufficient confidence level. In all of these examples, the differentbehaviors of the weapon systems 200, resulting from different weapons225, mounts 230, motors 235, and/or sensor units 240 may be entirelytransparent to the operator. In some cases, operators of weapons systems200 need not ever know what weapon 225 they are firing, and the entireoperator interface may function identically regardless of the particularweapon, motor, mount, or sensor unit. These similarities may apply tothe operator interface with respect to the kill chain sequence describedin reference to FIG. 4, the enabling/disabling of the operator's firingmechanism based on the confidence lock area boundary described inreference to FIG. 7, the related technique of enforcing a minimumconfidence threshold for targeting/firing discussed above, and all othertechniques described herein.

Additional techniques applicable to the above examples include theimplementation of operation-specific rules of engagement that may beretrieved/received and enforced by the targeting/firing system 210. Asdiscussed above, specific rules of engagement and/or operationalparameters for the motorized weapon system may include differentrequirements or parameters for target identification and selection,different minimum confidence thresholds for firing the weapon 225,different target prioritization algorithms, and so on. In someembodiments, the motorized weapon system 200 may be configured toreceive a set of operation-specific rules of engagement from a remotecommand center via a secure communication channel, store and apply thoseoperation-specific rules during the appropriate operation. As notedabove, specific rules of engagement and/or sets of operationalparameters may be associated with specific operators, operator rank,engagement location (e.g., country, region, etc.). In some embodiments,operators having sufficient rank and/or authorization levels may bepermitted to manually override certain rules of engagement and/oroperational parameters of the weapon system 200, and to apply theoperator's own preferred rules/parameters in place. Additionally oralternatively, such overrides may require outside approval, and thusupon receiving a rule/parameter override request from the operator, theweapon system may be configured to transmit a secure request foroverride approval a remote command center.

In several examples above, the target points for selected targets,including stationary and moving targets, are computed based on a desiredpoint of impact location on the target (e.g., an engine of a boat orvehicle, the center of mass of an individual, etc.). However, in someembodiments, the targeting/firing system 210 may be configured withwarning shot capabilities in which the desired point of impact locationis not on the target. For instance, the rules of engagement enforced bythe targeting/firing system 210 for a particular operation may dictatethat only warning shots are to be fired at particular selected target.Alternatively, such rules may dictate that at least one initial warningshot is to be fired at a selected target before an attempt is made tohit the target. In some cases, the operator controls 245 also mayinclude a warning shot mode that can be activated by the operator,independent of the rules of engagement of the operation, to allow theoperator to independently fire one or more warning shots on any selectedtarget.

When the targeting/firing system 210 is configured to operate in awarning shot mode, the firing solution may be adjusted to assure thatthe projectiles fired by the weapon 225 will miss the target. In someembodiments, the targeting/firing system 210 may determine the preferredlocation of a desired warning shot based on the type and size of thetarget (e.g., the number and position of warning shots for human targetsmay be different than for vehicle targets), the orientation and/or thedirection of movement of the target (e.g., it may be desirable to firinga warning shot directly in front of the target), and so on.

Implementation of the techniques, blocks, steps and means describedabove may be done in various ways. For example, these techniques,blocks, steps and means may be implemented in hardware, software, or acombination thereof. For a hardware implementation, the processing unitsmay be implemented within one or more application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signalprocessing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers,micro-controllers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed toperform the functions described above, and/or a combination thereof.

Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software,scripting languages, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardwaredescription languages, and/or any combination thereof. When implementedin software, firmware, middleware, scripting language, and/or microcode,the program code or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may bestored in a machine readable medium such as a storage medium. A codesegment or machine-executable instruction may represent a procedure, afunction, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, asoftware package, a script, a class, or any combination of instructions,data structures, and/or program statements. A code segment may becoupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and/orreceiving information, data, arguments, parameters, and/or memorycontents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed,forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable means including memorysharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

For a firmware and/or software implementation, the methodologies may beimplemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) thatperform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable mediumtangibly embodying instructions may be used in implementing themethodologies described herein. For example, software codes may bestored in a memory. Memory may be implemented within the processor orexternal to the processor. As used herein the term “memory” refers toany type of long term, short term, volatile, nonvolatile, or otherstorage medium and is not to be limited to any particular type of memoryor number of memories, or type of media upon which memory is stored.

Moreover, as disclosed herein, the term “storage medium” may representone or more memories for storing data, including read only memory (ROM),random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, magnetic diskstorage mediums, optical storage mediums, flash memory devices and/orother machine readable mediums for storing information. The term“machine-readable medium” includes, but is not limited to portable orfixed storage devices, optical storage devices, and/or various otherstorage mediums capable of storing that contain or carry instruction(s)and/or data.

A computer system as illustrated in FIG. 9 may be incorporated as partof the previously described systems, such as to execute the clientinterface, perform the functionality of orchestration systems and/ordatacenters, etc. FIG. 9 provides a schematic illustration of oneembodiment of a computer system 900 that can perform various steps ofthe methods provided by various embodiments. It should be noted thatFIG. 9 is meant only to provide a generalized illustration of variouscomponents, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate. FIG. 9,therefore, broadly illustrates how individual system elements may beimplemented in a relatively separated or relatively more integratedmanner.

The computer system 900 is shown comprising hardware elements that canbe electrically coupled via a bus 905 (or may otherwise be incommunication, as appropriate). The hardware elements may include one ormore processors 910, including without limitation one or moregeneral-purpose processors and/or one or more special-purpose processors(such as digital signal processing chips, graphics accelerationprocessors, video decoders, and/or the like); one or more input devices915, which can include without limitation a mouse, a keyboard, remotecontrol, and/or the like; and one or more output devices 920, which caninclude without limitation a display device, a printer, and/or the like.

The computer system 900 may further include (and/or be in communicationwith) one or more non-transitory storage devices 925, which cancomprise, without limitation, local and/or network accessible storage,and/or can include, without limitation, a disk drive, a drive array, anoptical storage device, a solid-state storage device, such as a randomaccess memory (“RAM”), and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can beprogrammable, flash-updateable and/or the like. Such storage devices maybe configured to implement any appropriate data stores, includingwithout limitation, various file systems, database structures, and/orthe like.

The computer system 900 might also include a communications subsystem930, which can include without limitation a modem, a network card(wireless or wired), an infrared communication device, a wirelesscommunication device, and/or a chipset (such as a Bluetooth™ device, an802.11 device, a WiFi device, a WiMax device, cellular communicationdevice, etc.), and/or the like. The communications subsystem 930 maypermit data to be exchanged with a network (such as the networkdescribed below, to name one example), other computer systems, and/orany other devices described herein. In many embodiments, the computersystem 900 will further comprise a working memory 935, which can includea RAM or ROM device, as described above.

The computer system 900 also can comprise software elements, shown asbeing currently located within the working memory 935, including anoperating system 940, device drivers, executable libraries, and/or othercode, such as one or more application programs 945, which may comprisecomputer programs provided by various embodiments, and/or may bedesigned to implement methods, and/or configure systems, provided byother embodiments, as described herein. Merely by way of example, one ormore procedures described with respect to the method(s) discussed abovemight be implemented as code and/or instructions executable by acomputer (and/or a processor within a computer); in an aspect, then,such code and/or instructions can be used to configure and/or adapt ageneral purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or moreoperations in accordance with the described methods.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as thenon-transitory storage device(s) 925 described above. In some cases, thestorage medium might be incorporated within a computer system, such ascomputer system 900. In other embodiments, the storage medium might beseparate from a computer system (e.g., a removable medium, such as acompact disc), and/or provided in an installation package, such that thestorage medium can be used to program, configure, and/or adapt a generalpurpose computer with the instructions/code stored thereon. Theseinstructions might take the form of executable code, which is executableby the computer system 500 and/or might take the form of source and/orinstallable code, which, upon compilation and/or installation on thecomputer system 900 (e.g., using any of a variety of generally availablecompilers, installation programs, compression/decompression utilities,etc.), then takes the form of executable code.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantialvariations may be made in accordance with specific requirements. Forexample, customized hardware might also be used, and/or particularelements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portablesoftware, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further, connection to othercomputing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed.

As mentioned above, in one aspect, some embodiments may employ acomputer system (such as the computer system 900) to perform methods inaccordance with various embodiments of the invention. According to a setof embodiments, some or all of the procedures of such methods areperformed by the computer system 900 in response to processor 910executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions (which mightbe incorporated into the operating system 940 and/or other code, such asan application program 945) contained in the working memory 935. Suchinstructions may be read into the working memory 935 from anothercomputer-readable medium, such as one or more of the non-transitorystorage device(s) 925. Merely by way of example, execution of thesequences of instructions contained in the working memory 935 mightcause the processor(s) 910 to perform one or more procedures of themethods described herein.

The terms “machine-readable medium,” “computer-readable storage medium”and “computer-readable medium,” as used herein, refer to any medium thatparticipates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in aspecific fashion. These mediums may be non-transitory. In an embodimentimplemented using the computer system 900, various computer-readablemedia might be involved in providing instructions/code to processor(s)910 for execution and/or might be used to store and/or carry suchinstructions/code. In many implementations, a computer-readable mediumis a physical and/or tangible storage medium. Such a medium may take theform of a non-volatile media or volatile media. Non-volatile mediainclude, for example, optical and/or magnetic disks, such as thenon-transitory storage device(s) 925. Volatile media include, withoutlimitation, dynamic memory, such as the working memory 935.

Common forms of physical and/or tangible computer-readable mediainclude, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk,magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other opticalmedium, any other physical medium with patterns of marks, a RAM, a PROM,EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any othermedium from which a computer can read instructions and/or code.

Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to the processor(s) 910for execution. Merely by way of example, the instructions may initiallybe carried on a magnetic disk and/or optical disc of a remote computer.A remote computer might load the instructions into its dynamic memoryand send the instructions as signals over a transmission medium to bereceived and/or executed by the computer system 900.

The communications subsystem 930 (and/or components thereof) generallywill receive signals, and the bus 905 then might carry the signals(and/or the data, instructions, etc. carried by the signals) to theworking memory 935, from which the processor(s) 910 retrieves andexecutes the instructions. The instructions received by the workingmemory 935 may optionally be stored on a non-transitory storage device925 either before or after execution by the processor(s) 910.

100981 It should further be understood that the components of computersystem 900 can be distributed across a network. For example, someprocessing may be performed in one location using a first processorwhile other processing may be performed by another processor remote fromthe first processor. Other components of computer system 900 may besimilarly distributed. As such, computer system 900 may be interpretedas a distributed computing system that performs processing in multiplelocations. In some instances, computer system 900 may be interpreted asa single computing device, such as a distinct laptop, desktop computer,or the like, depending on the context.

The methods, systems, and devices discussed above are examples. Variousconfigurations may omit, substitute, or add various procedures orcomponents as appropriate. For instance, in alternative configurations,the methods may be performed in an order different from that described,and/or various stages may be added, omitted, and/or combined. Also,features described with respect to certain configurations may becombined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elementsof the configurations may be combined in a similar manner. Also,technology evolves and, thus, many of the elements are examples and donot limit the scope of the disclosure or claims.

Specific details are given in the description to provide a thoroughunderstanding of example configurations (including implementations).However, configurations may be practiced without these specific details.For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, andtechniques have been shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoidobscuring the configurations. This description provides exampleconfigurations only, and does not limit the scope, applicability, orconfigurations of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of theconfigurations will provide those skilled in the art with an enablingdescription for implementing described techniques. Various changes maybe made in the function and arrangement of elements without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the disclosure.

Also, configurations may be described as a process which is depicted asa flow diagram or block diagram. Although each may describe theoperations as a sequential process, many of the operations can beperformed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of theoperations may be rearranged. A process may have additional steps notincluded in the figure. Furthermore, examples of the methods may beimplemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode,hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. Whenimplemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the programcode or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in anon-transitory computer-readable medium such as a storage medium.Processors may perform the described tasks.

Having described several example configurations, various modifications,alternative constructions, and equivalents may be used without departingfrom the spirit of the disclosure. For example, the above elements maybe components of a larger system, wherein other rules may takeprecedence over or otherwise modify the application of the invention.Also, a number of steps may be undertaken before, during, or after theabove elements are considered.

What is claimed is:
 1. A semi-autonomous motorized weapon system,comprising: a weapon capable of firing munitions; a two-axis orthree-axis mount configured to support and position the weapon; a motorcoupled to the mount and configured to move the mount to specifiedpositions, thereby controlling the direction to which the weapon isaimed; a manual firing mechanism coupled to the weapon; a processingunit comprising one or more processors; and memory coupled with andreadable by the processing unit and storing therein a set ofinstructions which, when executed by the processing unit, causes thesemi-autonomous motorized weapon system to: determine a target pointassociated with a target, at a remote location from the weapon system;determine an area having a boundary surrounding the target point,wherein the boundary of the area is determined by comparing a likelihoodof the weapon hitting the target when aimed at the boundary to apredetermined likelihood threshold, such that the weapon, when aimed atany point within the area, has a likelihood of hitting the target higherthan the predetermined likelihood threshold; after determining thetarget point, engage the motor with instructions to move the mount froman initial position to a target position at which the weapon is aimed atthe target point; during the engagement of the motor: (1) periodicallydetermine, during the movement of the mount toward the target position,whether the weapon is aimed at a position within the area surroundingthe target point; (2) in response to determining, during the movement ofthe mount toward the target position, that the weapon is not aimed at aposition within the area surrounding the target point, disable themanual firing mechanism of the weapon system to prevent firing of theweapon; and (3) in response to determining, during the movement of themount toward the target position, that the weapon is aimed at a positionwithin the area surrounding the target point, enable the manual firingmechanism to allow firing of the weapon by an operator; receive a firingcommand from an operator, via the manual firing mechanism; and inresponse to firing command being received at a time when the manualfiring mechanism is enabled, firing the weapon.
 2. The semi-autonomousmotorized weapon system of claim 1, wherein determining the areasurrounding the target point comprises: calculating an angular distance,from the perspective of the weapon system, between the target point andthe boundary of the area surrounding the target point.
 3. Thesemi-autonomous motorized weapon system of claim 2, wherein the angulardistance is calculated based on a first determined distance between theweapon system and the target point, and a second spherical radiusdistance determined based on characteristics of the target.
 4. Thesemi-autonomous motorized weapon system of claim 1, wherein determiningthe area surrounding the target point comprises: calculating a distancebetween the target point and the boundary of the area surrounding thetarget point, wherein the distance is calculated based on the size ofthe target..
 5. The semi-autonomous motorized weapon system of claim 1,wherein determining the area surrounding the target point comprises:calculating a distance between the target point and the boundary of thearea surrounding the target point, wherein the distance is calculatedbased on characteristics of at least one of: the weapon, the mount, orthe motor of the weapon system.
 6. The semi-autonomous motorized weaponsystem of claim 1, wherein determining the area surrounding the targetpoint comprises: calculating a distance between the target point and theboundary of the area surrounding the target point, wherein the distanceis calculated based on detected movement of the target.
 7. Thesemi-autonomous motorized weapon system of claim 1, wherein determiningthe area surrounding the target point comprises: calculating a distancebetween the target point and the boundary of the area surrounding thetarget point, wherein the distance is calculated based on movement ofthe weapon system.
 8. The semi-autonomous motorized weapon system ofclaim 1, further comprising a display screen, wherein the memory storesadditional instructions which, when executed by the processing unit,further causes the semi-autonomous motorized weapon system to: output anaugmented reality user interface via a display screen, the augmentedreality user interface displaying an image of the target, acomputer-generated indication of the target point, and acomputer-generated indication of the boundary of the area surroundingthe target point.
 9. A method of operating a motorized weapon system,the method comprising: determining, by a targeting system of themotorized weapon system, a target point associated with a target, at aremote location from the motorized weapon system; determining, by thetargeting system of the motorized weapon system, an area having aboundary surrounding the target point, wherein the boundary of the areais determined by comparing a likelihood of a weapon of the motorizedweapon system hitting the target when aimed at the boundary to apredetermined likelihood threshold, so that the weapon, when aimed atany point within the area, has a likelihood of hitting the target higherthan the predetermined likelihood threshold; initiating, by thetargeting system, engagement of a motor of the motorized weapon system,to move a mount from an initial position to a target position at whichthe weapon is aimed at the target point; during the engagement of themotor: (1) periodically determining by the targeting system, during themovement of the mount toward the target position, whether the weapon isaimed at a position within the area surrounding the target point; (2) inresponse to determining by the targeting system, during the movement ofthe mount toward the target position, that the weapon is not aimed at aposition within the area surrounding the target point, disabling afiring mechanism of the weapon system to prevent firing of the weapon;and (3) in response to determining by the targeting system, during themovement of the mount toward the target position, that the weapon isaimed at a position within the area surrounding the target point,enabling the firing mechanism to allow firing of the weapon; receiving,by the motorized weapon system, a firing command via the firingmechanism; and in response to firing command being received when thefiring mechanism is enabled, initiating firing of the weapon.
 10. Themethod of operating a motorized weapon system of claim 9, whereindetermining the area surrounding the target point comprises: calculatingan angular distance, from the perspective of the motorized weaponsystem, between the target point and the boundary of the areasurrounding the target point.
 11. The method of operating a motorizedweapon system of claim 10, wherein the angular distance is calculatedbased on a first determined distance between the motorized weapon systemand the target point, and a second spherical radius distance determinedbased on characteristics of the target.
 12. The method of operating amotorized weapon system of claim 9, wherein determining the areasurrounding the target point comprises: calculating a distance betweenthe target point and the boundary of the area surrounding the targetpoint, wherein the distance is calculated based on the size of thetarget.
 13. The method of operating a motorized weapon system of claim9, wherein determining the area surrounding the target point comprises:calculating a distance between the target point and the boundary of thearea surrounding the target point, wherein the distance is calculatedbased on characteristics of at least one of: the weapon, the mount, orthe motor of the motorized weapon system.
 14. The method of operating amotorized weapon system of claim 9, wherein determining the areasurrounding the target point comprises: calculating a distance betweenthe target point and the boundary of the area surrounding the targetpoint, wherein the distance is calculated based on detected movement ofthe target.
 15. The method of operating a motorized weapon system ofclaim 9, wherein determining the area surrounding the target pointcomprises: calculating a distance between the target point and theboundary of the area surrounding the target point, wherein the distanceis calculated based on movement of the weapon system.
 16. The method ofoperating a motorized weapon system of claim 9, further comprising:outputting an augmented reality user interface via a display screen, theaugmented reality user interface displaying an image of the target, acomputer-generated indication of the target point, and acomputer-generated indication of the boundary of the area surroundingthe target point.
 17. One or more non-transitory computer-readablemedia, comprising computer-executable instructions, which when executedby one or more processors, perform actions including: determining, by atargeting system of a motorized weapon system, a target point associatedwith a target, at a remote location from the motorized weapon system;determining, by the targeting system of the motorized weapon system, anarea having a boundary surrounding the target point, wherein theboundary of the area is determined by comparing a likelihood of a weaponof the motorized weapon system hitting the target when aimed at theboundary to a predetermined likelihood threshold, so that the weapon,when aimed at any point within the area, has a likelihood of hitting thetarget higher than the predetermined likelihood threshold; initiating,by the targeting system, engagement of a motor of the motorized weaponsystem, to move a mount from an initial position to a target position atwhich the weapon is aimed at the target point; during the engagement ofthe motor: (1) periodically determining by the targeting system, duringthe movement of the mount toward the target position, whether the weaponis aimed at a position within the area surrounding the target point; (2)in response to determining by the targeting system, during the movementof the mount toward the target position, that the weapon is not aimed ata position within the area surrounding the target point, disabling afiring mechanism of the motorized weapon system to prevent firing of theweapon; and (3) in response to determining by the targeting system,during the movement of the mount toward the target position, that theweapon is aimed at a position within the area surrounding the targetpoint, enabling the firing mechanism to allow firing of the weapon;receiving, by the motorized weapon system, a firing command via thefiring mechanism; and in response to firing command being received whenthe firing mechanism is enabled, initiating firing of the weapon. 18.The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17, whereindetermining the area surrounding the target point comprises: calculatinga distance between the target point and the boundary of the areasurrounding the target point, wherein the distance is calculated basedon detected movement of the target.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer-readable media of claim 17, wherein determining the areasurrounding the target point comprises: calculating a distance betweenthe target point and the boundary of the area surrounding the targetpoint, wherein the distance is calculated based on movement of themotorized weapon system.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable mediaof claim 17, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executedby the one or more processors, perform further actions including:outputting an augmented reality user interface via a display screen, theaugmented reality user interface displaying an image of the target, acomputer-generated indication of the target point, and acomputer-generated indication of the boundary of the area surroundingthe target point.